Wealthy businessman flys in 4,000 cows following milk shortage in the country

david nganga

June 15, 2017 2:23 PM

It will take him at least 60 flights to have the cows delivered in the country

Imagine flying a herd of 4,000 cows in a plane…Not one, not two but four thousand cows! Quite stupefying, right?

I’m sure you are even asking yourself what a cow would be doing in a plane in the first place.

Now as you ponder on that, a Qatar business man has decided to fly in 4,000 cows into the country in a bid to fill the void left by a collapse in the supply of fresh milk.

This is coming after a showdown between Qatar and its neighbours that has disrupted trade, split families and threatened to alter long-standing geopolitical alliances.

It will take as many as 60 flights for Qatar Airways to deliver the 590-kg beasts from Australia and US in what is being described as the greatest bovine airlift in history.

The wealthy business man, Moutaz Al Khayyat, who serves as Chairman of Power International Holding, was quoted as saying “This is the time to work for Qatar.” His main business is a construction firm that built Qatar’s biggest mall.

Most of the fresh milk and dairy products for Doha’s more than 1 million population came from Saudi Arabia up until a week ago.

That milk is getting scarce after the kingdom, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic economic and transportation ties with Qatar on grounds that it has been supporting Islamist groups.

Al Khayyat said that fresh milk production will start by the end of the month and will cover a third of Qatar’s demand by mid-July.

Facilities for the Holstein cows are ready, though the company will take a hit on the shipping cost for the animals, which increased more than five times to $8 M (Sh828 million).

david nganga